WHO: Omicron Strain Detected in 38 Countries

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Friday that 38 countries detected the presence of Omicron variant until now, RT reported.

In a live streaming Q&A session with the organization's Official Maria Van Kerhove, she revealed that the number of the countries that found Omicron on their lands jumped from 23 to 38 in only two days, referring to the earliest data showed Omicron as more contagious than Delta.

The official highlighted: “We do see an increasing growth rate, we see increasing numbers of omicron being detected,” adding: “But we have reports of omicron in 38 countries in all six WHO regions.”

After that, she referred to that Delta is still the dominant variant in the world. On the other hand, experts still try to define the transmissibility rates of Omicron.

During the same session, the Executive Director of WHO Health Emergencies Program Mike Ryan underscored: “Clearly the virus does appear to be transmitted efficiently. And we saw that before in delta. So again, there are certain things we shouldn’t be surprised with.”

Later, he commented on the issue of upgrading some vaccines to affect the new variant, saying: “Right now there is no need to change the vaccines we’re currently using,”

“There is no evidence to support that. There is no evidence there to change, but there’s a lot of work going on to look at if we were to change, how might we change those vaccines, and that work needs to be done upfront.”